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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22719877">the last page in the notebook</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daanny/pseuds/Daanny'>Daanny</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aging, M/M, No beta we die like everyone around byleth, Oneshot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:42:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22719877</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daanny/pseuds/Daanny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuri is growing older with each passing day, but Byleth remains the same.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>My Unit | Byleth/Yuri (Fire Emblem)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>157</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the last page in the notebook</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Morning, Byleth.”</p><p>“Good morning, Yuri.”</p><p>Their morning begins with simple greetings. They’ve learnt over the years that they need to appreciate the simple things in life. The moment they share is brief before Byleth rushes out of bed and hurries to get dressed.</p><p>“Early plans?” Yuri asks before tugging the covers closer to himself.</p><p>“Seteth had a list he wished to discuss before Claude arrives at dawn,” Byleths says, then yawns. “It’s a shame he’s the type to sleep and wake early. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”</p><p>“Maybe he should be the one getting used to your schedule.”</p><p>“I don’t need another two hour lecture on the benefits of rising early, but thank you for the suggestion.”</p><p>Yuri laughs. The sound of his laughter has changed over the years. When they first met, Yuri’s laugh changed to fit the audience he faced. Now, it is lighter, quieter, and Byleth likes to think that there’s more happiness behind it. Perhaps it’s only wistful thinking, but it warms Byleth’s heart nonetheless.</p><p>“Go, I’ll take my time getting up.”</p><p>Byleth nods, “If you need anything, just—”</p><p>“I know, I know. All these years and you still won’t stop nagging. I’ll be fine.”</p><p>He pulls on the jacket he’s worn for decades, then walks over to Yuri’s side. Putting a hand softly on his face, Byleth presses his lips to Yuri’s forehead.</p><p>“I love you, Yuri.”</p><p>Yuri takes a deep breath in, the way he always does when he’s about to spit out a particularly nasty retort. He pauses, looks at Byleth in the eyes, then lets go of the breath in a long sigh, “Me too, Byleth. I love you too.”</p><p>He leaves the room with a wave and waits until the door clicks quietly behind him. As if the click took away the barrier blocking off all his tension, his brain buzzes and he sinks to the ground, burying his face in his hands.</p><p>Yuri’s hair is now a snowy white. Wrinkles appear day by day across his face. He holds his notebook closer to himself with each passing day.</p><p>Yet Byleth’s appearance has not changed since the day he fused with Sothis’ spirit.</p><p>He doesn’t know what he should do.</p>
<hr/><p>“Byleth?” Yuri asks from across their room. He’s settled deep in an armchair in front of the fire. No matter how many layers he wears lately, he still remains cold. Yuri chuckles. “Stop looking so worried and come here. I have something for you.”</p><p>“For me? What is it?” Byleth stops beside Yuri’s armchair.</p><p>Yuri reaches for the the only ring on his hands and takes it off, “This.”</p><p>Byleth’s chest feels like it is getting crushed under an invisible weight. His brain is whirling with thoughts rushing through his mind, breaking whatever speed limit there might be in his own head. They’re too fast, and Byleth can’t make heads nor tails of these thoughts. He only barely manages to make out one word.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“It was from your father, right? So it’s gotta be important to you,” Yuri must have seen the look on Byleth’s face, for his own expression melts into a sad smile. “Come on, take a seat beside me.”</p><p>Byleth dumbly obeys. Yuri reaches a hand over and gently pats his head.</p><p>“That’s a good boy. You know, you’ve been really busy lately, so I’ve had a lot of free time to myself.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Byleth mumbles.</p><p>“No, that’s not what I meant. I just had a lot of time to think about… us. It’s been, what, fifty years now?”</p><p>“Fifty-two years seven months and three days.”</p><p>“Alright, alright. Fifty-two years seven months and three days now. The face I used to be so proud of is now just the face of any old man down the street. But you still look the same.”</p><p>“I think you look beautiful either way,” Byleth frowns.</p><p>“Of course I do. Who do you think you’re talking to?” Yuri grins, tucking a piece of  hair behind his ear. “Anyway, the point is. I’m going to die from my age soon, Byleth. Perhaps in the next few years, few months, or even few days. But you will live on. You don’t have to hide it from me. I’ve seen an estimate for Seteth’s age already; you are probably no different. I will die, but you will live on. You must not be bound by the memories of me.”</p><p>“That’s… easy for you to say,” Byleth says, trying his utmost to stop his body from trembling. Yuri quietly strokes his back as he waits for the message Byleth wants to deliver but can’t yet find the words to. “I’ve… all this time… I just wanted to be with you. Of— Of course I knew that it couldn’t last. That’s why I tried to make the most of our time together. So why are you—” he wipes away a tear in anger. “Why are you giving it up?”</p><p>“I’m not giving it up!” Yuri says indignantly.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“You think I would give up something this important to me so easily? Don’t be ridiculous,” Yuri says, pressing the ring into Byleth’s hands. “What I wanted to say is. If you are ever to meet someone that’s half, or hell, even a quartre my greatness, and you were to fall in love with that person, I don’t want you to be bound to your memories of me. But good luck trying to find someone that can even hope to come close to me.”</p><p>The thoughts in Byleth’s head finally slow and take shape, “You’re not abandoning me?”</p><p>“Huh? Why would I do that? Didn’t I say you’re the most important person to me? Why would I abandon you?”</p><p>“I… Never mind,” Byleth shakes his head. He closes his hand around the ring and tucks it away in a pocket. “I’ll keep this with me, then. Should I return the one on my hand?”</p><p>“Nah, I want to leave <em>some</em> kind of memento with you. Keep it, until you decide you don’t want it anymore.”</p><p>“I’ll keep it forever, then.”</p><p>“As you wish,” Yuri shrugs. “Now, that’s enough excitement for one night. I’m headed to bed. And you?”</p><p>“Ah, me too.”</p><p>Settled comfortably under the covers mere minutes later, Byleth passes a hand through Yuri’s hair, “I love you, Yuri.”</p><p>“I love you too, Byleth.”</p><p>The next morning, Byleth was the only one to wake up.</p>
<hr/><p>The funeral was quiet, and only Yuri’s closest friends and family were present. When his body was lowered into his grave, Byleth reached for the notebook Yuri always had on hand. He had a pen ready, but when he flipped to the last page, he found it mostly filled out already.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Byleth Eisner,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I went ahead to the afterlife. Sorry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Since it</em>
  <em>’s the last letter I’ll leave you, I wanted to sound like I know what I’m talking about, but of course, I’m still at a loss of what to say. Well, no place better to start.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Seteth can get annoying, but he has your best interests at heart. Still, I think it</em>
  <em>’s safe to say he’s lost the battle when it comes to you sleeping and waking earlier.</em>
</p><p><em>Remember to eat three meals a day. No, half a cup of overnight coffee does </em>not<em> count as breakfast.</em></p><p>
  <em>Training comes after eating and sleeping. You are not allowed to skip a meal just because you weren</em>
  <em>’t hungry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It</em>
  <em>’s not good to eat three consecutive meals… even if it is to keep the motivation of your students high.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I</em>
  <em>’m sure there’s more that I’ve forgotten, but I’m running out of space anyway. So I’ll just say the most important thing.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love you, Byleth Eisner. You are the best thing that has happened to my life. Thank you for helping me get one step closer to my dream.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Forever yours,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>****** *******</em>
</p><p>“You didn’t need me to write your name in this after all. You did it first already,” Byleth grumbles to himself even as he scribbles under the last line a copy of the same name.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>we were never provided with yuri's true name, so it's censored out here</p><p>SO! In Yuri and Byleth's S Support, where Yuri says "I can't see anyone else more suited to the task than you.", in japanese, there a part where he pauses and says あんたが良い, and the way the voice actor delivers it is so tender and so filled with love i've been swooning since i heard it </p><p>thus this fic</p><p>also, i have a twitter @aoi_sakura27 where i post wip/scream about characters, come join if you'd like</p></blockquote></div></div>
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